Toys and other devices that discharge objects have been designed in the past with various housing and internal elements. These devices are designed to discharge specifically design projectiles to eliminate or greatly reduce bodily injury and property damage. To insure that users not succeed in inserting objects that are dangerous and/or destructive better safety features are needed.
Launching devices are well known and are disclosed in several existing patents. By way of example, Gay and others patented a launching device in 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,136, entitled “Spring Actuated Projector Having Gravity Fed Magazine,” which patent purports to disclose a disc having a serrated edge to be impacted by a pivotal arm biased by a rubber band. The arm has a leading serrated edge to engage the disc and cause the disc to spin. The launcher uses a channel having side rails to limit the width of objects that may be inserted, a top wall to limit height of such objects and a bottom trough so that small objects, such as a pencil, fall into the trough and are not able to be impacted by the pivotal arm. In 1983, Resiggam received U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,723, issued for an “Air Gun with Piston Fully Cocked in Plurality of Stages,” that purports to disclose a pawl and rack to facilitate partial or full cocking of an air gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,383 issued in 1992 to Ebert and others for a “Gun with Pivoting Barrel, Projectile Loader, and Trigger Interlock,” purports to disclose as a safety feature a BB gun with a barrel that pivots from the front. When latched the barrel is aligned and may be fired, when unlatched the barrel pivots and cannot be fired. A year later, in 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,271 issued to Casas-Salva for an “Air Rifles of the Hinged Barrel Type,” that purports to also disclose an air rifle with a pivoting barrel for cocking a piston/spring and a spring biased catch for holding the barrel in alignment for firing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,270 issued in 1996 to Casas-Salva for “Air Guns,” which purports to disclose another air gun having a pivoting barrel, two spaced apart arms on the stock, and a tongue on the barrel so that when the barrel is brought into alignment the tongue fits between the arms to ensure proper location.
These patents and devices are of some interest, however, they do not disclose or illustrate a toy item with sufficient safety and play value.